


Highschool Sleuths

by Amber_Marinette



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Detectives, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:35:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25934506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amber_Marinette/pseuds/Amber_Marinette
Summary: Cassandra is Corona City's chief police's adopted daughter. Ever since she was a kid, she was always dragged into cases but his father never let her help in any way she can.Now, she was transferred to Corona High as a 1st year college student and this is where her life of mystery comes to light.She never knew much about her past. Who is her real parents? Why was her father always keeping her in the dark? Things changed when she found four different kinds of teenagers.Let's just say that cases starts to follow them ever since she opened the door of friendship.Friends. Betrayal. Codes. Cases. Mafia. Love.Can her life get more complicated?Sleuths/Detective AU
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Kudos: 7





	1. Astrology Conundrum (Introduction)

**Author's Note:**

> You can check the Illustrations for this book at instagram: @Mininimondy

"Are you sure about this, Cassandra?" 

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes and turned her head to her father, her eyebrows furrowed.

"I told you for the 5th time today, Dad. Yes, I am sure. Stop treating me like a kid!" She ranted.

"But-"

"Dad." She sighed. "You know how long I have been wishing to go to Corona High and study criminology."

"But why Corona High?"

She raised an eyebrew. "Why not Corona High?"

Her father's lip formed into a thin line, his eyebrows furrowing but he didn't answered.

Cassandra crossed her arms and stared at her father. "Don't tell me you don't want me to go to Corona High?"

"Yes - no." His father sighed. "It's not like that, sweetie. It's just that, it's a boarding school!"

Cassandra tilted her head to the side, pursing her lips. "What's wrong with going to a boarding school?"

His father didn't answer but his silence proved something.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "I told you, Dad! I'm not a kid anymore!" She whined. "Stop looking at me like I'm a damsel-in-distress! I'm 23 years old and I'm studying criminology for goodness' sake!"

"But, Cass!"

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him and grabbed her luggage, heading to her car.

"Cassandra, please!"

She stopped and closed her eyes, calming herself down. It's okay. She can do it. He's her father and she knew that he's only worried. She opened her eyes and slowly turned to him. 

"I'm sorry-" she was cut off when her father gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra. I was just worried. It's a huge adjustment for me. I'm used to seeing you once I got home."

The dark haired girl sighed and pulled away. "I know, Dad. I'm sorry I reacted like that. It was disrespectful of me."

Her father gave him a smile. "Just don't get into trouble, Cass," said her father and opened the car's trunk, placing her luggage in it.

Cassandra opened the door and sat on the driver's seat. "Got it, Dad."

"See you soon, Cassandra."

"See you soon, Dad." She closed the car door.

She stepped on the gas and made her way to her new school. She sighed. This is it. She always wanted to study criminology and when she grew older and be a Forensic Science Technician or maybe a Jury Consultant, anything to help her father.

Honestly, the reason why she enrolled at Corona High — other than the good quality education it gives — was also to get the freedom she wanted. Don't get her wrong, she love her adopted father but he can be overprotective at times.

She arrived at the parking lot and opened the door. She sighed, a heavy feeling in her stomach. She gulped and got down from her car. She opened her trunk and took out her black luggage. 

She sure hope that this doesn't seemed weird, walking to school holding a luggage. She's starting to regret bringing a lot of things to school. I know that the essentials are already given to them but she still have things the school cannot give.

"Hi!"

She was about to enter the front door when a voice called out to her. She turned her head and saw a blonde girl wearing the school's uniform. She must be a student here. 

"Hello," she replied.

"You're new here, right?" She asked with a soft voice, her eyes fixated at her luggage.

"Yeah," she answered. "Do you know where the Registar's office is? I need to get my schedule."

"Oh, sure! Follow me! I'm Rapunzel." The blonde introduced.

"I'm Cassandra," said the dark-haired girl.

The arrived in front of the registar's office, a glass window being the only one to block her and the registar.

"Name and course?" asked the registar. According to her nameplate, her name is Marie.

"Cassandra Lim, Criminology." she answered.

"Alright, here's your schedule," said Marie and handed her a piece of paper through the glass hole at the bottom.

She took it and saw her schedule for the first semester:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday Classes:  
Understanding the self - 8:00 - 9:00  
Readings in Corona History - 9:00 - 10:00  
Interactive English: Listening, Speaking and Grammar - 10:00 - 11:00  
Introduction to Criminology — 11:00 - 12:00  
Mathematics in the Modern World - 1:00 - 2:00

For her Saturday class:  
The Contemporary World - 8:00 - 10:00  
Fundamentals of Martial Arts 10:00 - 12:00

Sunday class:  
Reserve Officer Training Corps 1 (ROTC 1) - 8:00 - 12:00

Then it read that her room was on the girl's dormitory, Room 18.

She sighed. So she'll be free on every Tuesday and Thursday. Her ROTC 1 class really is a long one. She can do this.

"Oh! We're roommates!" She turned her head to see Rapunzel peeking on her schedule.

"Great. That leaves me a lot of time to prepare for my first day tomorrow."

"I'll give you a tour if you want!" The blonde suggestions.

"Nah, I'll pass. I'm tired for the day. Now if you wouldn't mind, can you lead me to our room?" She asked.

"Oh, sure!"

A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the door. She sighed and opened the door, revealing a big room with three beds in it. The one was occupied by a dark haired girl with black eyes. She's wearing a black glass and her eyes was fixated in the book she is reading, "The Crooked House by Agatha Christie."

"Cassandra, meet Bridget. Bridget, meet Cassandra!" Rapunzel introduced.

Bridget raised her hand and waved, not daring to look at the two. "Sup," she greeted.

"Hey," Cassandra replied and placed her luggage on the bed that she presumed was hers since it's the only part of the room who seemed lackluster.

"I hope you two get along," said Rapunzel with a smile. "I still need to tend the newbies. Bye!" She waved her hand and closed the door.

The room was silent as Cassandra fixed her things. She opened the cabinet and saw that her uniform there were complete. She opened another cabinet and decided to place there her personal clothes and stuffs. There were two cabinets for each student to be exact.

"AAHHH!"

Cassandra was in the middle of fixing her things when a loud scream was heard. Bridget quickly stopped reading and sat up, running to the door and Cassandra followed.

She saw that the other students were also rushing out of their rooms. She even saw Rapunzel running towards their direction. The blonde stopped in front of them, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" asked Bridget.

"What happened?" Cassandra asked.

"It's the Astronomy teacher! He's been murdered!"

"WHAT?!"


	2. Astrology Conundrum (The Case)

BRIDGET'S eyes sparkled at the mention of the word murder. That didn't go unnoticed in Cassandra's eyes. Her eyes narrowed and gave Bridget a hard pat on her head, considering that she's smaller than her.

"Aray!" Bridget reacted, using a foreign language.

Cassandra eyebrow's furrowed and Rapunzel turned to their dark haired friend, hearing her words.

"What did you say?" Rapunzel asked.

Bridget shrugged and gave Cassandra a glare. "It means ouch in English," she explained. "What was that for?" she ranted.

Cassandra crossed her arms and glared at the kid. "That's for looking so excited just because you heard the word, 'Murder'," she explained.

Bridget pouted. "That still doesn't give you the right to hurt me. What are you? My mom?" She joked.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to?"

Bridget's eyes widened and quickly shook her head. "Na, uh! No way!" she turned her head to the side. "Mas gugustuhin ko pang kumain ng sili kesa maging nanay ka," she whispered, using another language again — her mother tounge to be exact.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Can you please stop speaking in another language? We can't understand you."

"Because I don't want you to." She stuck her tounge out, acting like a little kid. She turned to Rapunzel with a huge smile. "Hey, Rapunzel, why don't we go investigate?"

"Woah! Woah! Hold that!" Cassandra stated. "Investigate? Just how old are the both of you?"

"I'm 15," Bridget answered truthfully.

"I'm 20, how about you?" Rapunzel answered.

"23. 1st year college. How about the two of you, what grade are you both in?" She asked.

"Second year on Senior High, Humanities and Social Science student," Rapunzel answered.

"First year on Senior High. Same track as Rapunzel," Bridget said with a smile.

Cassandra frowned. "Aren't you a little young to be on 11th grade?"

Bridget shrugged. "My mom enrolled me to school at the age of 3 and my teachers made me skip Preparatory because they think that I don't need it anymore and I'm ready to be an elementary student."

"Wow. Do you even have a childhood?" Rapunzel asked, giving her companion a worried look.

Bridget nodded with a huge smile. "I live in the Philippines 'till I was 13 before I move here in Corona, that explains my mother tounge. I really have a lot of friends there. Sure, I was always stressed because I need to be a Dean's lister every year to make my mother proud, but I'm fine with it." she stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Cassandra blinked. She knew the feeling of doing everything just to make someone proud. She's hoping that once she graduates, she can finally make her father proud. 

Bridget clasp her hand together and turned to the both of them. "Now that the introduction is done, can I now go see the crime scene?" She pleaded.

Cassandra sighed. "Do you really want to?" 

"Yes!" Bridget beamed.

"Fine. But we'll go with you," she remarked.

Bridget's smile fell, his lips forming into a thin line. "But why?"

"Because you're a kid and the police won't let you in anyway. You can only take a peak," Cassandra teased.

"Hmp!" Bridget whined.

Rapunzel laughed and stared at them. "The two you are like sisters."

"No way! I'm fine with my own older sister," Bridget said.

"No, thank you."

"Follow me." Rapunzel started to walk towards the Astronomy room.

There were police everyone and some nosy students who wanted to know what was happening. It was a crowd in the hallways, they can't cut in even if they tried.

"Uh, everyone, excuse me." Rapunzel tried to get their attention but no one was listening.

"Everyone please!" Rapunzel shouted but to no avail. Suddenly, Cassandra felt a person behind her. She quickly turned her head, ready to punch.

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR THE MAYOR'S DAUGHTER?! EVERYONE, OUT!" A booming voice was heard from behind her. And just like that, the students that were gathering flee for their lives.

The voice was from the man standing just behind her. He have brown hair and have a handsome features. She furrowed her eyebrows, why does he seemed familiar? He walked towards Rapunzel and wrapped his arm around her waist. Rapunzel then turned to him with a smile.

"Thanks, Eugene," she said.

"Anything for you, Princess." He gave her a wink that made Rapunzel chuckle.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow and stared at the two of them. "Uh, mind introducing us?" She asked.

Rapunzel blinked. "Oh, right! Eugene, this is Cassandra and Bridget, my friends. Bridget and Cassandra, this is Eugene, my boyfriend."

"Sup," Bridget greeted.

Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him. "Haven't I met you before?"

Eugene let out a nervous laugh. "What? Me? No!" 

Cassandra crossed her arms and tried to recall some events in her life. Then it clicked.

"Aha! You're the guy that I saw in the prison talking to my dad!" She shouted. "You were arrested for vandalizing."

"Yeah. Yeah. Those days are behind me, CasSANdra."

"But you still did it. Rapunzel's my friend and you're her boyfriend. I'm going to keep my eyes on you," she threatened.

"Whatever," Eugene deadpanned.

"Bridget?"

The four of them turned their heads when they heard a familiar name being called. It was a police officer who called them, a kind smile on her face as she walked towards them. She have some features similar to Bridget, like the black eyes, pointed nose and black hair.

"Sis?" Bridget's eyes widened when she saw her sister. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm the inspector assigned for this case," her sister, Genevieve, explained.

"Oh, right." Bridget turned to her friends. "Everyone, this is my sister, Genevieve. Genevieve, this is everyone," she explained lazily.

Genevieve rolled her eyes. "You really wouldn't make the effort to introduce them to me one by one, do you?"

"Nope."

"Lagot ka kay Mama," Genevieve threatened, using another language.

"Edi isumbong mo. As if I care," said Bridget.

"Uh, guys?" Rapunzel let out a nervous laugh. "We can't understand you."

"Oh, sorry!" Genevieve's face turned red. "I was only threatening my sister. By the way, you can all call me Gen. Genevieve is too long."

"Alright then. I'm Cassandra," said the dark-haired girl.

"I'm Rapunzel!" said the brunette.

"Eugene Fitzherbert," he smiled.

"What are you doing in here? Students aren't allowed in a crime scene," Gen explained.

"Then why is that guy in there?" 

They all turned to Bridget who, they never realized, went at the door of the Astronomy room. Gen facepalmed and sighed. She hates her sister for being nosy but she can't stop her.

"He's a big help to the police force," said Gen.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked.

"He's been helping solving cases ever since he was fourteen. Now, we're hoping that he can help us with this case," Gen explained.

"Can we come in, then? I'm a criminology student," Cassandra suggested.

Gen sighed. "Fine. You all can come. Just don't contaminate the crime scene. You can ask Pete for gloves and mask."

"Noted," Rapunzel said with a smile.

They entered the room, gloves and mask on. From her peripheral vision, Cassandra can see the spark on Bridget's eyes. She sighed. Looks like the books she's reading are taking a toll on her.

Cassandra wasn't disgusted when she saw the dead body, the teacher's body laying on the cold ground, blood around him and a opened one little plastic bottle. Her father's job trained her for this. Bridget quickly turned her head to the side, closing her eyes. While Rapunzel turned around a clutched Eugene's shirt. Looks like the two girls couldn't take seeing it.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" Cassandra asked.

"Maybe the heater is on," Rapunzel said.

"It is."

They all turned their head when a person jumped in their conversation. It was the person Gen was referring to. He was an inch taller than Cassandra, blue eyes, have black hair and a blue streak in his bangs.

"Varian!" Eugene greeted with a smile.

"Eugene! I didn't know that you're interested in this kinds of stuff," Varian commented.

"I'm not. But Rapunzel wanted to see it," said Eugene and hugged his girlfriend. "You okay, Blondie?"

"Y-yeah. But I prefer not looking at the body again."

"Want to go outside?" Eugene asked and the brunette quickly shook her head.

Eugene sighed. "Fine. If that's what you want."

Varian's eyes landed on the most beautiful girl that he ever seen. He gulped and slowly walked towards her, trying to gather the courage.

"H-hi. I'm Varian. You are?" He asked, his cheeks turning red — thanks to the mask, it was unnoticable.

"Cassandra," she introduced. "So, you're some kind of a detective, huh?"

"H-huh? Me? I guess? I do help with the cases," he blushed and scratched the back of his neck.

"Excuse me." They turned their heads to Genevieve who were holding some papers.

"The report had arrived. Basing from the rigor mortis, the teacher was killed two hours before he was found. The reason was being hit hard on the head and the loss of blood. The murder weapon was still not found." Gen explained.

"Is there anything we can use to narrow down the suspects?" Varian asked.

Gen nodded. "We checked his phone and we saw the messages he sent to three people. Vienna Marcus, Melanie Diana and Robert Cruz. The message he sent were 'I know your secret. Meet me at the Astronomy lab this morning.' was the message it contained."

"Interesting," Varian whispered. "Is there any clue?"

Gen nodded once again. She showed them a torned piece of paper with the number, 0621-0722 is the KILLER, written on it. 

Varian's eyes narrowed and stared at it for a long time. Cassandra listened and mentally noted everything. Bridget was examining the room, trying to avoid looking at the victim and Eugene was talking to Rapunzel about something.

"Is that all?" Varian asked.

Gen nodded. "The suspects would be arriving in a few minutes now."

"Good. Let's get this Astronomy Conundrum Case to light."


	3. Astrology Conundrum (Conclusion)

AFTER a few minutes, the suspects arrived. Two girls and one man. The first one has long black hair, wearing a black tshirt and grey pants, she was twirling her hair with her finger - a nervous look on her face. The next woman has short brown hair, wearing a red tshirt with a flowery design and a long blue skirt, her head keep looking left to right. The man was wearing a white polo shirt and maong pants, both of his hands in his pocket. 

"Why are we in here?" asked the man who Cassandra assumed is Robert since he's the only man in the suspects.

"Apparently, the three of you are the last person the victim met before he died," said Gen.

"D-does this mean that you suspect us?" The long haired girl asked.

"Yes," Gen answered without second thoughts. "Now, the three of you take a seat." She pointed on the three chairs in front of where the five are sitting. 

The three of them complied while Gen took a new chair and sat down, facing the three with a serious look, her companion standing next to her holding a pen and a notepad, ready to jot down their testimony.

"The victim was killed around 8 in the morning and the body was discovered at 10 am by Varian. Tell me your name and what happened when the victim sent you that text message," Genevieve asked.

All of them remained silent for a few secons before the long haired girl spoke up, a sad look on her face. "I'm Melanie Diana and I was the first one he texted. It was around 7 in the morning when I arrived," she gulped. "I went there because I thought he found out about how I cheated the exam last year," she bowed her head.

"So, you killed him?" Eugene asked and Rapunzel elbowed his side.

Melanie shook her head. "No! I didn't. He only asked me if I know something about the CM and I said no. I didn't even know what CM means. I quickly left after that. I was back to my dorm after that."

"Do you have anyone who can testify that you're on your dorm after the conversation with the teacher?" Gen asked.

"The CCTV cameras?" Melanie asked.

Rapunzel shook her head. "That won't do. It's not working because it was meant to be replaced later this afternoon."

"So you don't have a strong alibi," said Bridget.

Melanie sighed. "I guess so."

Gen turned to the next girl. "How about you?"

The short haired girl spoke. "I'm Vienna Marcus and I came there at around 7:40 in the morning for the same reason as Melanie — we're in the same class with him as our teacher last year — and he did the same thing about the CM. After talking to him I went straight to the gymnasium to practice the new cheer routine. My teammates aren't there yet so I practiced alone and with the broken CCTV, that leaves me to have no strong alibi," she stated quickly.

Gen nodded and turned to the man who have his hand in his pocket. "Your turn."

"I'm Robert Cruz and I'm the school's treasurer. I received his text but I didn't went to meet him because I thought it's another one of his prank. I was at my office all the time. As for my alibi, I called a friend of mine, Justin, around 8:10 from my office in the morning," he stated.

"Give your friend's number to the police so they can confirm your alibi," said Gen.

A question popped in Cassandra's mind and she turned to Rapunzel. "Raps, does everyone here who have their own office have their own fridge?" She asked.

"A small refrigerator? Yes. Why did you asked that?" Rapunzel asked.

Varian, who was listening to the both of them, quickly turned to his seatmate, Cassandra, with wide eyes. "You're a genius, Cassandra! That's it!" He whispered yelled.

Cassandra cheeks turned red at his compliment and looked away. "T-thanks?"

"I don't get it. What's happening?" Eugene asked.

"I know who the culprit is," Varian whispered with a smile. "I just need the evidence." He then stood up and walked to the suspects.

"May I ask what your birthday is?" He asked.

"January 3," said Melanie.

"March 5," said Vienna.

"July 15," said Robert.

Gen stood up. "Is there anything related to the situation about their birthday here, Varian?"

Instead of answering her question, Varian walked to the three and offered a hand. "Can I please get a handshake from the three of you?"

They were hesitant at first but they obliged when they saw the inspector's glare. After a few moments a police arrived to confirm Robert's alibi. 

"I KNOW WHO THE KILLER IS!" He announced and everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Who is it?" Gen asked.

He looked at the three people before stopping at his main suspect. "It no other than you, the School's treasurer, Robert Cruz! YOU ARE THE KILLER!"

"What? I thought he have an alibi?" Eugene whispered.

The man laughed. "What kind of joke is that, kid?"

"How can you say that he's the killer, Varian?" Gen asked.

"Before I answer your question, let Cassandra tell you how the culprit killed the victim," he said.

Cassandra's eyes widened and stared at him. "Why me?"

He gave her a kind smile. "You're the one who discovered the trick. I don't want to take the credit that belongs to you."

Cassandra stood up before explaining. "First, he took a bottle of water that is now frozen by being locked in the freezer for too long. Next, he went to the victim and bashed his head with it until he dies," she recited.

Gen's eyes widened. "That's why we couldn't find the murder weapon!"

Varian nodded. "Because the murder weapon vanished."

"So that's the reason why the heater is on! To melt the ice and to confuse the police!" said Rapunzel.

"That's not the only thing," Bridget chimned in. "To fool us on the rigor mortis."

"Rigor mortis? What's that?" Eugene asked.

This time, it was Rapunzel who answered. "The cooling of the body postmortem, is the result of a cessation in thermoregulation. In other terms, it is what the forensic team examine to determine the victim's time of death. But it can be change depending on the temperature."

"That's right," said Bridget. "If the room temperature is cold, it can slower the effect of the rigor mortis but if it's hot, then it can fasten the effect. In short, since the heater is open, making the room hot enough to slow the process, the victim was really killed around 9:00 to 10:00 and not 8:00 in the morning. Am I right, Mr. Treasurer? That means your alibi is not accepted anymore," she added.

Robert still have a confident smile on his face. "That still doesn't prove that I am the killer. Give me some evidence."

"Alright," Varian stated. "The evidence would be first, in all of the suspect you're the only one who is capable of doing it — having your own refrigerator in your office. You could easily wait for that bottle to froze. Next is the evidence given by the victim and the one in your pocket."

Robert's face paled. "W-what do you mean?"

"I'll start with the victim's clue. '0621-0722 is the KILLER' means Cancer is the killer. Cancer's birthdate is 0621-0722 or June 21 to July 22. He's an astronomy teacher so he know things about astrology. He probably wrote it just in case something bad happened to him. That's why I asked for your birthdays. July 15 is yours, right? While others are out of the Zodiac sign cancer. Another thing is the one in your pocket. Ever since you arrived, you haven't taken your hands out of those pockets. Why? Because you're hiding the evidence there," he stated 

"What evidence?" Gen asked.

"The one thing missing on the murder weapon. The bottle cap," he stated.

Gen quickly took the culprit's hand and searched for his pocket, and there they found the bottle cap.

"You can check it for luminol testing and I'm sure you'll find traces of blood there. Now." He crossed his arms. "Are you still going to deny it?"

Robert looked at Varian with pure hatred and pushed Gen harshly and stood up, walking towards Varian like a bull. He was about to attack him but Eugene was fast enough to give him a kick, making him fall to floor.

Varian sighed in relief. "The victim probably found out about how you are embezzling the school's money. CM stands for Corona's Money."

The police dragged the suspect away.

"Another great job, Varian," said Gen.

"That was so cool!" Said Rapunzel. "Not the killing of course."

"Case closed," Varian said with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Credits the class schedule for the 1st semester of Criminology to the FB page Armed Detective Agency.
> 
> You can check the Illustrations for this book at instagram: @Mininimondy


End file.
